Reality therapy and WDEP

Domain III · Humanistic, existential & experiential · William Glasser, Robert Wubbolding · 1950

What it is

Reality therapy is a brief, present-focused counselling method. William Glasser, a psychiatrist, developed it from the 1950s–60s in work with delinquent youths and severely disturbed adults. Robert Wubbolding (Center for Reality Therapy, Cincinnati; William Glasser International) systematised it as…

Format

• The procedures that lead to change: the WDEP system. These are used flexibly, in any order and repeatedly, within and across sessions.
• Format and dose

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• metaphors the client doesn't relate to; switch to theirs.
• if the client can't describe any, go back to wants (4.4).
• over-teaching theory. Keep it short and tied to the client's material.
• lecturing. Teaching must stay need-satisfying (fun, power) for the client.
• excuses gathering. Gently redirect to the present and to what the client controls.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.